15 dead as Moroccan landslide buries van, rescue fails

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Moroccan authorities say that 15 people have been killed in a landslide that buried their van under 20 meters (65 feet) of earth, leaving no survivors.

The dead include a 6-year-old child, according to a local official at the scene of Thursday’s tragedy. Heavy rainfall triggered multiple landslides in the area, blocking a road connecting Casablanca to southern Morocco and hindering rescue efforts.

It took nearly 24 hours for emergency workers to dig out the van. The bodies were dug out overnight and transported to the Marrakech morgue, where the victims’ families are now waiting, the official said. The official wasn’t authorized to be publicly named.

The Interior Ministry announced the deaths Friday, without providing further details.

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